5 things to do in the Mat-Su: Weekend of July 21, 2017

With the new school year around the corner, the community is already gearing up with a back-to-school clothing giveaway; the Mat-Su Fiber festival is returning to the fairgrounds with a slew of fiber artistry; Cardboard City is back and participants can support the homeless by staying the night in a cardboard box or their car. There’s also a free shooting event in Talkeetna with guns, ammunition, and food provided by the Upper Susitna Shooting Association. The Alaskan Outdoor Market is in full swing and will keep going until September.

July is nearly over and the state fair is just around the corner. Before the school bell rings and the leaves fall, there’s still time to find plenty of things to do.

2017 Cardboard City Friday night at fairgrounds

This Friday is the annual Cardboard City event where residents gather at the Alaska State Fairgrounds to stay the night in cardboard boxes and, for the first time this year, in their cars.

The event begins at 5 p.m. Online registration has closed, but those interested can still sign up at the gate. There will be soup provided by Vagabond Blues, Turkey Red, Bistro Red Beet and the Grape Tap. There will also be bread to go with provided by North Star Bakery. There will be a handful of speakers giving lectures, live music, a cardboard house decoration contest, and a bedtime story before “quiet time.” Those who do not want to stay the whole night can still donate the $50 (minimum) and either set up a cardboard box at home or just make the donation.

According to coordinator and Family Promise Mat-Su director Laurie Kari, the participation numbers are low this year but the “funding is good.” She said that she wants to see more people sign up and show up.

Cardboard City is a homelessness awareness and outreach event stemming from Family Promise Mat-Su. The goal is to “end homelessness” in the Valley by providing support and recuperation for the less fortunate. Funds for the event fuel the Family Promise Mat-Su Shelter, where the Valley’s homeless families can get an overnight place to stay, hospitality, free food, showers, laundry and case management to “help them get on their feet.”

According to Kari, spanning 12 years, Family Promise Mat-Su has sheltered 39,000 “bed nights.” She said that the program has an 80 percent success rate. She also mentioned that the event is taking place during the National Housing Week of Action; going on to say that “lack of affordable housing” is one of the main causes of homelessness.

Kari also wanted to thank the community for its support over the years.

Schedule:

Friday, July 21

5-8 p.m. Registration

5:30 p.m. Speakers

6-7:30 p.m.

A simple meal will be served: Soup, bread and coffee or water

Music: 6 p.m. Adele Morgan; 7 p.m. Mountain Waxwings

9 p.m. Judging of decorated shelters

10 p.m. Awards/prizes and bedtime stories

11 p.m. Quiet time and kids to bed

Saturday, July 22

6 a.m. Wake-Up! Clean-Up! Doughnuts!

8 a.m. Vacate fairgrounds

Upper Susitna Shooting Association’s Annual Meeting and Family Fun Day

it’s time again for the Upper Susitna Shooters Association’s annual meeting and family fun day, set for Saturday at 10 a.m. at the range, located at mile 94 off the Parks Highway in Talkeetna. The event will be open to the public, so member and nonmembers can mingle, learn about the association, eat burgers and hot dogs, and shoot guns – all for free.

Guns and ammunition will be provided and everyone is asked not to bring their own gun. Kids can shoot .22s and adults can shoot high-powered rifles. The meeting will cover association business and officers and board members will be elected. There will also be a gun raffle, giving away pistols and rifles to winners.

According to range president Jim Brazeau, the Upper Susitna Shooters Association is an “all-volunteer organization” and has one of the few 1,000-yard ranges in the state. He also said that children under 17 shoot for free year-round.

“It’s a safe, relaxed atmosphere,” Brazeau said.

Alaskan Outdoor Market

Every Saturday this summer will feature the Alaskan Outdoor Market, a commonplace for local vendors to sell goods, crafts and food at the Curtis D. Menard Sports Center.

It is also a venue for local artists to showcase their work. Musicians, craftsmen, painters, glassworkers and artists of other mediums will be on site. Each week will have a featured artists.

According to Jackie Eve, Executive Assistant for the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, the market is meant to support the local economy, and “keep some our dollars here at home.”

The market is an ongoing event that runs until September.

For more information, call: 907-690-0667

Back to School Community Clothing Giveaway

Kids and parents alike can stock up on clothes Saturday at Frontline Mission’s annual Back to School Community Clothing Giveaway, located at the Wasilla Lake Church-Nazarene, 2001 E Palmer-Wasilla Hwy.

The clothing giveaway begins at 9 a.m and ends at 3 p.m.

There will be clothes for all ages and all sizes to choose from. There will also be some housewares and other miscellaneous goods to browse. Most of the clothes will be set up on tables with some on racks. The items will be separated by gender, size and season. Volunteers will distribute sacks at the door so visitors can load up on their selections.

The clothing is derived from Wasilla schools’ unclaimed lost and found items and also from Frontline Mission’s Clothing Closet inventory. The Clothing Closet is a weekly clothing giveaway program that allows individuals from the community to pick five items per week on Thursdays and Fridays.

Frontline Mission posted video on Facebook showing the volunteers sorting through a “sea” of clothing. In the video, one of the head coordinators for the event, Annette Rogers walked around the church’s gym where about a dozen volunteers were seen sorting through piles of clothing that stretched across the gym’s floor. She said that the volunteers were a “fabulous team” of college students from Azusa Pacific University in California.

According to the event page, “All items have been donated by community members to help anyone in need. We all can fall on hard times sometimes and it is wonderful to know there are compassionate people who care and want to help each other as we have need.”

Next Saturday, Frontline mission will be teaming up with Walmart and radion station Q99.7 for a food drive. Shoppers can purchase prefilled grocery bags at checkout, then take them to a van out by the entrance. Q 99.7 will be doing a raffle for two-night stay in Homer, a package worth about $400.

The food drive runs from 10 a.m to 6 p.m.

Second Fiber Festival Saturday and Sunday at Raven Hall

Palmer- This Saturday and Sunday is the second annual Fiber Festival at the Alaska State Fairgrounds Raven Hall. It begins at 9 a.m. and will feature numerous fiber artists showcasing their craft. There will be over a dozen vendors selling their creations. There will also be a series of demonstrations, events, workshops and shows for all ages. Some classes will have a price but there will be many free ones as well. Two certified judges from the lower 48 will be present to assess the live animals on display — sheep, goats and rabbits.

“Talk to the farmers and 4-Hers that raise the animals, see a shearing demo, explore the world of raw fleece, feel the differences between the many local breeds, and learn all about the many varied ways to handle, work, and process the fleece into felt, yarn, roving, and custom dyed lots,” said board member Michelle Olsen.

According to Olsen, some of the vendors one can expect to see at this years’ Festival include:

Touch of Alaska - Roving, plain and painted, dyed and handmade items plus wheels, carders, and Alaskan fiber yarns.

Qiveut Designs - Garments, sculptures, jewelry and accessories designed, knitted, dyed, woven and sewn from the wool of the Musk-Ox

Flower & Feathers - Hand spun, hand woven items, pottery, jewelry, stitch markers, needles, tote bags and craft kits.

Angorable Fairy Tale Fiber Arts - Angora bunnies to pet plus hand spun yarns angora yarns.

Valley Fiber Arts Guild - Demonstrating spinning techniques with spinning wheels and drop spindles.

Dandelion Acres - Prepared fiber ready to spin including pure fibers, some dyed, some blended, mostly Angora from goats and rabbits, as well as alpacas and some silk blends and hemp.

The Dirt Sheep - Fiber pottery and home spun, home dyed yarns, home made wheel, and thrown and slab pottery.

Tundra Toes - Custom socks made on a circular sock machine “you gotta’ see this!”

The Musk Ox Farm - Qiviut and other musk ox related items.

Lynx Mullen will be there with washed fiber, dyed yarns, art batts, rolags, drop spindles, yarn tools, and spinning wheels.

Fiber-N-Ice Alaska - Hand dyed yarns and rovings plus Majacraft & Louet spinning wheels.

Grumpy Bunny Woolworks -Dyed and undyed roving, hand carded batts, Angora Rabbit fiber, needle felting supplies, SpinOlution Spinning Wheels and Kraemer Yarns.

Whether you are a seasoned professional or just want to see what all the hubbub us about, there will be lots of things to learn, see, and do,” Olsen said.

To enter your fiber animals in the Sheep, Goat or Rabbit Show for the festival, email Matsufiberfest@gmail.com for entry form or more information.